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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Spy Kids Are Growing Up Fast

"Spy Game 3-D: Game Over" (2003).

I have not yet seen the first two in this series, but liked "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (2003) for what it is. What that is, first and foremost, is a movie for kids. I went with two
kids, one 8, the other 11. The younger one loved the movie and the 3-D
aspect and couldn't wait to log on to the website after she got home
(difficult website, though, and she soon lost interest). The older one
liked it also, but commented about the "Spy Kids" series, "They keep getting
dumber and dumber." Very young children might be scared by some of the
flashy scenes and have trouble with the 3-D part. So, the target audience is
pretty narrow, but there are a lot of 5-12 year-old kids out there with
parents who need to chaperone them....

Ricardo Montalban dominates this film through his sheer manly presence.

Now, for adults, this is a lot less painless to sit through than most movies
for kids because of the presence of some truly classic actors. Ricardo Montalban, for my money, gives a splendid performance and
just steals the show from everyone else involved. He gets off a few classic
lines ("I can do much, much more than that") and, for those who know his
history, a few obvious references to his earlier screen incarnations ("Don't touch
that, it is Corinthian leather"). Obviously, the kids won't appreciate his
history, but he is an outstanding actor who fills his grandfather role
nicely. Montalban, as fans know, was confined to a wheelchair as a paraplegic at this stage of his life, but continued to work - thus his reference in the film to being able to walk again via movie magic. This apparently was his last on-screen film performance, though he continued doing voice work primarily for television.

Sylvester Stallone departs just a bit from his standard tough-guy persona.

Sylvester Stallone gives an amusing performance. Salma Hayek is pretty as
always, though she isn't given much to do. After that, the supporting cast is
pretty low-key. I thought Courtney Jines, who plays Demetra, gave a fine,
laid back kind of performance that was perfect for the part. Nobody else
really registered very strongly, the stars of the show are the situation and
the special effects.

I really like this visual, the way it is set up to focus you on Ricardo in an almost ethereal way

The putative stars, the "Spy Kids" themselves, are innocuous and no threat
to win any acting awards. Alexa Vega is getting, shall we say, womanly, though Daryl Sabara still looks enough like a kid to get by. I can see why children still relate to them, they are
portrayed as average kids who are not superior beings or anything like that.
Unfortunately, they also are quickly moving out of the "kid" category, so I
can understand why the people behind the series have said this is the last
in the line.

Alexa Vega, Antonio Banderas and the others also are terrific in "Spy Kids 3-D"

The 3-D gimmick worked for me. I stopped noticing the blue-red glasses
after a while. Others say they strain the eyes, but they did not strain
mine. I think it was a brilliant decision, although to tell the truth, the
3-D was not that big a deal. I have seen good 3-D, and this is minor
league, but it was fun and something different for the
kids.

3-D jumps out at you.

As for the plot, well, it involves entering a video game (as in the classic
"Tron" and so many subsequent films) and solving a problem. Other than
that, it makes no sense, especially the resolution, but I'm sure nobody
spent too much time trying to make the plot mean anything. It is fun and
has a lot of color and action, so the kids will love it. This is sure to do
blockbuster business on dvd as a gift to children. I laughed a few times,
so it doesn't have to be like going to the dentist for an adult, either.
Recommended for kids and adults who have to see a kid's movie with them.

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